Utilities hope to restore power to much of the Methow Valley

Originally published July 25, 2014 at 9:54 am

Updated July 25, 2014 at 9:19 pm

Remains of buildings burned by wildfires are seen Thursday near the Alta Lake Golf Course near Pateros, Okanogan County. The bulk of people and businesses without electricity are clustered around Pateros, Twisp and Winthrop.

Officials say they plan to restore power to much of the wildfire-ravaged Methow Valley on Friday.

The Okanogan County Public Utility District plans to energize the Highway 20 (Loup Loup) transmission line Friday afternoon, according to a news release. That will restore service to many in the Methow Valley, but not to those in the Beaver Creek, Loup Loup and Finley Canyon areas damaged by fire.

Firefighters spent Wednesday and Thursday trying to keep the fire south of Highway 20, which runs from Okanogan west to Twisp and Winthrop, according to the federal fire-tracking website Inciweb.nwcg.gov.

The fire was 55 percent contained, according to the website, up from 2 percent Monday. The largest wildfire in recorded state history, the Carlton complex fire has burned more than 250,489 acres, or nearly 400 square miles. About 150 homes have been destroyed, The Associated Press reported.

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Lightning strikes that might have fueled the Carlton complex wildfire never materialized Wednesday and Thursday, allowing emergency responders a moment to sigh in relief.

But scattered rain and other difficult conditions delayed efforts to restore electricity to about 7,000 Okanogan County customers, according to Dan Boettger, director of regulatory and environmental affairs for the Okanogan County Public Utility District.

Work by utility crews also was hampered by a handful of new power outages and fire flare-ups, Boettger said.

“The weather’s been our biggest obstacle over the past 24 hours,” he said.

The thunderstorms forecast to bring lightning and flash flooding to the area Wednesday never inflicted the damage many feared. Forecasters had predicted lightning could spur the fire’s spread and rain could cause ground made bare by the flames to turn into mudslides.

Only six lightning strikes occurred within the fire’s boundaries Thursday, according to Steve Bodnar, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. About 100 lightning strikes total happened near the fire, he said.

While the rain skirted most of the wildfire, Bodnar said it did contribute to a small mudslide near Gold Creek. It was quickly cleared up, Bodnar said.

Most of the people and businesses without electricity are clustered in and around the towns of Pateros, Twisp and Winthrop in Okanogan County, according to Boettger.

“We’re still predicting the town of Twisp and the town of Pateros to be back on this weekend,” he said. Once electricity is restored in Twisp, that power could be extended to Winthrop.

Megan Snow, communications director for the Red Cross, said emergency responders have been swamped by the amount of donations given to help the recovery efforts.

While she called the donations generous, Snow advised people to hold off on giving more for now.

“There might be other needs that crop up along the way,” she said.

The Red Cross has case workers around the region hit by the fires, according to Snow. Anyone who had property damaged or who lost property can reach a case worker resource line at: 571-205-3464.

The Red Cross is still running three emergency centers in the region, at Brewster High School, Chelan High School and The Barn in Winthrop.